The Moon and The Mob
by xyellowconverse
Summary: Mob mentality takes over Hogwarts after a werewolf attack on the grounds and Lena Rivers finds herself as Public Enemy No. 1 as everyone is soon convinced that she's the werewolf. Marauders Era SB/OC JP/LE
1. The Dream

I've dreamed the same dream for the past three weeks. I'm running in a dark forest. There's some sort of faint glowing in the distance and I'm running away from it. My eyes try not to even look at the grown, like it's something I'm trying to avoid. Suddenly there's a dog. It's the same dog every night. It's the size of a crouched over man with shaggy midnight colored hair. It looks at me before running off in the direction of the glowing light. I chase after it, following it towards the light. I can't keep up with it. It's always faster than me, bounding towards the growing light. Suddenly we're at a cave while the glowing lights move closer and there's something hiding in the dark. It always starts in the shadows but eventually it moves into the moonlight. A wolf, hesitant and scared. It looks up at me with its big amber eyes, as if it's begging me for something but I never know what it wants. The glowing grew closer, flickering until I understood what it meant. Fire.

There were voices, muffled shouts and screams. Their words were unintelligible and I didn't recognize the voices but I recognized them as being angry. The wolf looked at me, begging with its eyes. It couldn't used words but I knew exactly what it was trying to say. "Protect me. Keep me safe."

The fiery glowing continued to glare, lighting up the cave as it drew nearer. The wolf whined, pawing anxiously at the ground. Instinctively, I threw myself over it, protecting it with my body as the voices grew nearer. They were finally close enough that I could understand the words, "Kill the wolf!"

The massive dog stood at the mouth of the cave, guarding the dog and I from the impending mob. The lights kept growing and the the voices became louder, more determined. The wolf bucked his head into my shoulder in worried distress.

The mob finally arrived at the cave, their torches raising the temperature of the dog growled protectively at the mob, his black shaggy fur standing on end as he bared his teeth. The mob pushed him aside easily, knocking him against the stone wall. He fell to the dirt floor with a defeated whimper.

The mob didn't look like people. They looked more like an army of shadows, almost like a cross between blurred ghosts and dementors. They glided across the ground, their torches flickering in the cold night air.

I closed my eyes, clenching the wolf more tightly as I could feel the shadow mob begin to loom over me. "Kill the wolf!" the shadows yelled once again like a collective battle cry.

And then I woke up, just the same way as I always did every time I had that dream. A light layer of sweat clung to my body and my heart continued to raise. "Damn," I breathed as I ran a hand through my sweat drenched hair. I looked at the clock on my bedside table. It was already 6:46 in the morning. My alarm would be going off in fourteen minutes so there sadly wasn't any reason for me to try to fall back asleep.

I rolled out of bed, deciding it made more sense for me to claim the bathroom instead before my roommates woke up. That was one of the biggest disadvantages to having four roommates. We were always clamoring all over each other in the morning to try and get extra time to prepare in the bathroom. Well, all the gossiping and backstabbing that came with living with teenage girls wasn't exactly fun either.

I managed to get in and out of the shower before I even heard any of my roommates began to stir. I'd learn to take quick showers during my Third Year when my roommates discovered makeup. Part of me wished we could go back to the days when the only thing we really cared about before breakfast was washing off the mud. How did lipstick, eyeliner, hair straightening spells, perfume, and vials of blemish remover come into our lives? I just wanted to go back to simpler times.

"Morning Lena," Lily Evans, one of my roommates and my closest mates, greeted me as I stumbled out of the bathroom while trying to button my shirt. "How'd you sleep?"

I shrugged, "I've had better."

"You going to be able to stay awake through Care of Magical Creatures?" she gave me an empathetic smile as the self proclaimed diva of our dormitory, Courtney Schmidt, claimed the bathroom. She probably had to smother herself in makeup so she didn't look like a troll for class. The blokes at school might have thought she was fit but all of her roommates knew what kind of a hot mess she was underneath her layers of paint.

I groaned. I had forgotten that today's first class of the day was Care of Magical Creatures. "Can I just skive off lessons today? I don't have their patience to work with Stoke and I'm tired of getting bit by that damn Niffler. Of all the creatures that we could be assigned, why would Kettleburn think that taking care of a Niffler would be a good idea?"

"Well at least you get to go outside," she pointed out. "Some fresh air might make you feel a little more awake."

I nodded, "Hopefully. If not then I don't know how I'm going to survive all of Stoke's flirting. Seriously, he's almost worse than the Marauders."

She balked at the idea. "No one could be worse than the Marauders. They're the worst of everything. They're -" Her face was beginning to turned as she began her ranting. She could really work herself up when she thought about them.

"I said 'almost'," I reminded her, wanting to stop her before she gained any momentum. If there was one thing that she could rant about all day then it'd be the Marauders, especially James Potter, their arrogant, boyish leader. James had been "in love" with Lily since halfway into our First Year. He'd been constantly seeking out her affection since then. Of course, she wasn't interested and he was a complete moron when it came to wooing her so there wasn't much progress on that front.

"Well, it could be worse. You could be partnered up with Black," she pointed out, recovering pretty well from her almost rant.

I nodded. Roger Stoke, my Care of Magical Creatures partner, was flirtatious but Sirius Black made him look mild. He was a serial flirt who barely ever actually took the time to date anyone that he'd been showing interest in. He was like a puppy. He'd gain interest in one thing but then his attention would be drawn to something else more shiny and he'd lose all interest in the first thing altogether.

"And you have a before lunch," she continued to remind me. "You could get a nap in then."

I scoffed at the idea. It was only the end of September and our homework load was already off the charts. I already had foot-long essays assigned and it was only going to get worse as N.E.W.T.s drew closer. I'd heard horror stories of what Seventh Year was like but I'd always brushed them off as being melodramatic, exaggerated recollections. Now that I was in Seventh Year I realized that they weren't exaggerated at all. In fact, they were a bit understated.

"Yeah, and maybe I can get McGonagall to give me an extension on my essay recapping our last six years of lessons in her class," I commented sarcastically. "I'm sure that conversation would go well. 'Hey professor, do you think I could turn my essay in late? I decided that taking a nap was more important than my schoolwork. I hope you don't mind.'" I rolled my eyes, shaking my head, "I think her head would explode."

She gave me a playful scowl, "I was just trying to be optimistic. Excuse me for trying."

I waved her off, "Fine, fine, you're excused. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get to breakfast before the bacon's all gone. Have fun trying to wrestle Courtney for some time in the bathroom. I think you'd have better like trying to get it away from an angry manticore."

"I'm Head Girl this year," she pointed out. "I'll just give her a detention for being inconsiderate to others.

That was true. Her Head powers might be enough to make Courtney move a little faster but I wasn't sure that the Headmaster exactly had that in mind when he assigned her as Head Girl. "Whatever," I waved her off. "Good luck with the troll. I'll save you some kippers."

She glared at me, throwing her pillow at me as I ducked out of the dormitory, school bag in hand.I always loved to tease her about kippers. She hated them with a fiery passion but that was Lily. Whenever she decided that she didn't like something or even someone then she'd put her entire being into despising it. If there was one thing that could said about her it was that she definitely didn't do anything halfway.

I skipped down the stairs, feeling slightly better about the day. My brain had mostly pushed the dream out of my thoughts and I was trying to think about the day in increment of hours. Only two hours of working with Roger, only five hours until lunch, etc. It really couldn't be as bad as I was worried it'd be... Right? Then again, that's what I thought about Seventh Year and damn, I was wrong. At least it could be worse.

I noticed Sirius chatting up a girl in the corner of the Common Room when I came down. I rolled my eyes at him and the ridiculous giggling harpy in front of him. Lily was right about Roger being a better alternative than him. I guess that proved that I really was right too the. Things really could have been worse.


	2. The Wolf

The moon was already beginning to rise as Roger and I finally finished cleaning the Niffler's cage. We probably would have been done faster if he hadn't been such a moron and listened to me when I told him to take his damn ring off before we opened the cage. As a result of his stupidity, I had to spend nearly two hours persuading the NIffler not to try to bite his hand off in attempted to get his shiny ring. Finally the Niffler was assuaged back into its cage and everyone, surprisingly, still had all their fingers attached. Overall, I guess it was a success. At the very least it could have been worse.

"Nasty little bugger," Roger complained as we headed back towards the castle. "Couldn't we just learn about Recaps or something with less teeth?"  
"It could have been worse," I pointed out. "We could have been assigned Grindylows. They almost drowned Mary last time."

He nodded in agreement. It was hard to think Nifflers were so bad after what happened to Mary MacDonald. Some Grindylows pulled her to the bottom of Black Lake. It took Kettleburn, Hagrid, the groundskeeper, and half of the Care of Magical Creatures N.E.W.T.s class to get her to dry land. Afterwards, our Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, banned all lessons on Grindylows.

"I'm starting to think I should have taken Muggle Studies instead," he commented. "At least then it'd be safer."

"Unless you get electrocuted," I reminded him.

He shook his head, "Is there any classes here that can kill you?"

I thought about it. Herbology dealt with venomous plants, dealing with McGonagall in Transfiguration sometimes felt death-defying and Human Transfiguration was dangerous, and Potions could result in your cauldron exploding. Flying for First Years was obviously dangerous as was Defense Against the Dark Arts. History of Magic was so boring that you could feel like you were dying and that was close enough. Charms could do serious damage if someone's spell backfired and there'd been rumors that you could unleash a deadly curse if translated your runes too badly in Ancient Runes but that was probably just rumors.

"Astronomy's safe," I told him. "You know, as long as you don't fall off the tower. Divination is pretty safe if you don't inhale too many tea leaves and Arithmancy is safe too, I think. Don't know, haven't taken it."

"So pretty much I should just stick with Magical Creatures? At least then I get to spend some time alone with a pretty girl," he commented with a cheesy smile. A wolf howled in the distance, causing him to laugh, "Apparently that wolf agrees with me!"

"Well, you know, it'd probably be safer if you didn't wear a gold ring while you're handling a Niffler," I pointed out.

He scoffed, holding the ring on his finger to his chest, "It's a family heirloom! It's been passed down for generations. It my father's and his father's and his father's before him and -"

"And none of that matters if its in the hands of a Niffler," I interrupted. "A Niffler doesn't care about anything as long as it's shiny."

The wolf howled again, this time considerably louder than before. It was strange to only hear one wolf howling at the moon. They were pack animals and they always seemed to be howling together. Why could I only hear one?

"We should greet back to the castle," I told him, not liking the idea of a wolf moving towards us. "We were supposed to be back ages ago."

"What? You scared of a little wolfie?" he teased, grinning roguishly at me. "What? You hear too many stories about the big bad wolf when you were little?"

I shook my head, the hairs on the back of my neck rising up on end warningly. "I don't like this, Roger. Something doesn't feel right. We shouldn't be here."

"Come on, where's your sense of adventure?" he joked mockingly. "When do we ever get to roam the grounds at night, let alone on a full moon. It's kind of romantic,isn't it?" He waggled his eyebrows at me with playful suggestiveness. He jokingly howled back at the wolf, grinning like an idiot.

My brain slowly began to put the pieces together. "Roger, knock it off! We need to get out of here now! A full moon? Only one wolf howling? It's a werewolf! We need to get out of here!"

He blinked several times at me, slowly ingesting what I just told him. "A werewolf?" he repeated slowly.

The possible werewolf howled again, sounding eerily close. I tried to remember about what we'd learned in Defense Against the Dark Arts on werewolves. Werewolves are people who turn into near-wolves during the full moon. They have no memory of who they are or who anyone else is while they're in their wolf state. They're aggressive and... Only respond to the sound of a mate calling them.

"You just called it right to us," I told him, horrified at the idea.

His eyes widened at the realization, "RUN!"

I didn't need to be told twice. My feet began to scurry, slipping against the wet grass as I raced towards the castle. Roger, having longer legs than I, sped past me. Yet again, I had another reason to wish I had longer longs...

I could hear the werewolf getting closer. Its padded feets muted his footsteps but I could hear the dry leaves cracking underneath its weight and the branches slapping against it as it ran. It was going to outrun me. The realization hit me as I ran through the clearing. It was over two hundred yards to the castle and it was faster than I was. It couldn't chase Roger and me both but I was the easier target. Werewolves were too good of hunters to choose a faster prey over a slower one, even if the slower one was a little smaller.

I kept running, despite my epiphany that it'd probably catch me and at least infect me, if not kill me. There was still a small glimmer of hope that I could survive and I wasn't ready to just lie down and die just yet.

I could see the castle. It was so close that I could see Roger scampering inside through the front entrance. Maybe he'd go and get help. Maybe he'd find some professors to come and try to Stun the werewolf before it got me. I didn't even know if werewolves could be Stunned. I knew that giants weren't stunnable but I'd never heard anything about werewolves getting Stunned or if it were even possible.

I turned my head, trying to see if the werewolf was behind me as I sprinted towards the castle. I couldn't see any wolves but I couldn't see the tree root I was about to trip over either. I hit the wet grass face-first with a thud. I tried to push myself up into a sitting position, my forearms already feeling like they were beginning to bruise.

The werewolf seemed to appear out of thin air, lurking at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, watching me. My heart began to pound rapidly and my mouth went dry.

"Oh fuck," I breathed, not sure what to do. It wasn't moving, only watching me. If I ran then I knew it would chase me. If I stayed there then it'd only be a matter of time before it attacked me. Either way I was royally screwed.

I shakily reached for my wand in my back trouser pocket. If it charged at me then at least I'd try my best to hold it off. I didn't want to die there and I didn't want to get infected either. I tried to push away the panic, searching my brain for any information about Shield Charms that I'd learned in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Or maybe we'd learned about it in Charms? Why couldn't I remember?

The werewolf pawed against the dirt, throwing its head back to howl at the moon. It sounded like some sort of battle cry. It bounded towards me, gaining speed as it neared me. I gripped my wand tightly, flicking it upward, "PROTEGO!"

The werewolf bounced off my Shield, flying backwards and landing hard against the cold ground. I waited for it to get up, for it get angry and try to charge me again. It never did. It whimpered once, lying pathetically on the grass. I'd expected it to be more indestructible, harder to stop. In fact, I'd kind of expected my Shield Charm not to work, especially not this well.

I saw something dark emerge from the trees. At first I thought I was hallucinating. It was the very same dog as in my dreams. It was the same shade of midnight with the exact same gait. I felt the same urge to follow him blindly as I did in my dreams. If it wasn't for the dull pain in my forearms and knees then I'd think this was some sort of dream.

If this was the dog from my dream then was the werewolf the wolf from my dream? Was that the wolf that I was supposedly supposed to protect and save? I definitely was beginning to wish I was supposed to save an actual wolf. So this was what my dreams were telling me to protect? Well, they really should have told me that before I knocked his lights out with a Shield Charm.

The dog barked at me before letting a low growl. It wanted me to leave. I didn't need to speak canine to understand that.

I nodded. It had brought me to save the wolf in my dream and if my dreams were some kind of a skewed premonition (and that was a huge "if") then it wasn't the time to save it yet, which didn't break me up too much inside because I wasn't quite prepared to go head to head with a werewolf.

I shakily got to my feet, taking one last look at the wolf and the dog, reassuring myself that I wasn't dreaming again. Then I turned and I ran like hell back to the castle, not bothering to turn back around and look again.

Once I reached the safety of the Great Entrance; I felt like I was going to vomit. I don't know if it was the after effects of my adrenaline rush or the slightly terrifying idea that a werewolf might have been lurking outside the castle every full moon. If there was a werewolf on the grounds then it was possible that it was a student. Dumbledore seemed the type to let a werewolf attend school, even if no other headmaster would. That's just who Dumbledore was. He was the champion for all the lost causes.

A werewolf in Hogwarts? I hoped for their sake that it wasn't true. Roger wasn't the type to be attacked by a werewolf and not tell everyone of his narrow escape. Everyone at school would probably know about it by tomorrow and that would make it incredibly hard for a werewolf to hide when everyone was looking for him.

Maybe that's why the dog wanted me to protect the wolf in my dream. Maybe seeing the same dog from my dream hanging out with a werewolf was purely coincidental. Maybe I didn't actually see a dog at all. Maybe the adrenaline was just playing with my head. Maybe I was going crazy. Maybe somebody had slipped something in my pumpkin juice at dinner and I was hallucinating. There were a lot of maybes but I knew one thing for sure: I really hoped that I wouldn't be dreaming again tonight.


	3. The Spark

"It was almost eight feet tall," Roger told the students who swarmed around him. "It's teeth were almost an inch long and its looked pure evil."

I rolled my eyes at his embellished story of our run-in with the werewolf the night before. I buttered my toast as I watched him at the Ravenclaw table, making dramatic gestures about how he survived an attack with a werewolf he never even saw.

"Anyone less of a man never would have survived an encounter with the beast," he continued, likely just saying this for the benefit of the Fifth Year Ravenclaw girls watching him, hanging on every word. "I never would have escaped if I wasn't so handy with my wand. It was dangerous, even for me."

"It's a scandal that Hogwarts would even allow werewolves anywhere near the castle," one of the Fifth years exclaimed. "What if it'd been a First Year who'd been out there? How would Dumbledore explain that to the poor kid's family? It's just awful."

Her classmates nodded in agreement. "Do you think they go to Hogwarts?" one of the girls asked Roger with big curious eyes as if he were the expert.

"I figure that's the only explanation," Roger nodded. "With all of Hogwarts' security measures to keep Death Eaters out, I don't see how a werewolf could get on the grounds. Werewolves are all about carnage. They couldn't get through security. It'd have to be a student."

I wanted to interject about how that wasn't necessarily true and how the security measures might have just been for humans and wouldn't affect werewolves in wolf form but I didn't want to put myself in the middle of the conversation. I still needed to collect my information and come up with a plan.

"Do you think Dumbledore knows?" one of Roger's mates, Nick McGregor, questioned, eyeing Dumbledore at the staff table with concern and suspicion.

"When doesn't Dumbledore know everything?" Roger scoffed.

He was right, of course. Dumbledore always seemed to know everything about the universe. If there was a werewolf student then he knew about it. If there was a werewolf in the larger community then he probably knew about it. It was like his beard had magical truth-seeking powers.

"We should go to the Board of Governors!" Nick exclaimed. "We should get him sacked for endangering students!"

I rolled my eyes, pretending to read a copy of Witch Weekly to hide my eavesdropping. The idea of students getting Dumbledore fired was about as laughable as getting Lord Voldemort himself to agree to come over and have a tea party. You'd be about as likely to sack Dumbledore as you would to get the Dark Lord to drink a cup of tea with his pinkies out.

"Wotcher Lena," Lily greeted me as she, Mary, and Marlene arrived at the table.

"Shut up," I hushed her with a hiss. "I'm listening."

She looked a little taken back by my silencing her but proceeded to shrug and take her seat on the bench. Apparently it was too early for even the Queen of Argument to bicker.

"We really need to talk to the Board," one of the girls with their back to me agree. "It's not safe."

"What if they're working with Death Eaters?" one of the Fifth Year girls spoke in a loud, panicked whisper-like voice. "They could bring You-Know-Who right to the castle!"

I tried to choke down a laugh. The truth of the matter was any student could be working with the Death Eaters. If they wanted to expel every student with Death Eater connections then they'd have to kick out half of the Slytherin population.

The terrified silence at the Ravenclaw table, however, told me that they didn't find the idea as ridiculous as I did. One of the girls got into her bag, procuring a piece of parchment, "I'll start writing a petition."

I was completely gobsmacked and, at the same time, completely unsurprised. I folded my copy of Witch Weekly on the table. I knew fear could make people do some stupid things but one mention of Voldemort and a vague threat of Death Eaters and all of a sudden they were racing to action after this whole thing had been brought to their attention by a liar. I wasn't necessarily surprised but I was a bit disappointed.

"Lena, what's going on?" Lily questioned as she reached across the table for the jam. "You look upset."

I immediately stood up, my body reacting before my mind could process. "I'm going to the library," I announced.

"We have class in half an hour," Marlene pointed out.

"This is more important," I replied vaguely, throwing my bag over my shoulder. I walked determinedly out of the Great Hall, ignoring my friends' confused looks. I needed more information if I was going to nip this whole thing with Roger in the bud then I was going to need to know exactly what I was getting into. If I needed to make my case for why the werewolf should be left alone then I was going to need to know more about them.

The librarian, Madam Pince, looked at me with a mixture of suspicion and confusion when I asked her if she could recommend any good books about werewolves. I could tell by her reaction that this wasn't a topic she usually was asked about. Most the requests she got probably revolved around magazines or Quidditch books. I quickly added that it was about an extra credit assignment from the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Drake, and that seemed to end her suspicion. She pointed me to several books that she thought I might find useful.

Two of the books she suggested were nothing better than Anti-Werewolf propaganda. Another one of the books only mentioned werewolves briefly, explaining how to identify a werewolf in wolf form. It was nothing I hadn't heard before. The only book that had any sort of information was the book I'd been most skeptical about. It was called "Hairy Snout, Human Heart" and it was apparently an anonymous Memoir of a werewolf. It wasn't exactly the hard facts I was looking for but it was better than the Anti-Werewolf propaganda that tried to claim werewolves climb into people's homes and eat their children.

Despite my initial skepticism, once I started to read the book I couldn't put it down. Before I knew it, I'd spent the entire day in the library pouring over the book. When I finally finished I wiped the tears from my eyes, feeling as if the Knight Bus had run over my heart. I hadn't expected the book to have such an emotional impact. How could it not though? A true story about a werewolf bitten against their will and living in a society that would cast them out, not worse, if they knew what they were.

The book had only reinforced my desire to help. I only wish I knew how to help. It wasn't like the library carried a brochure about what to do in this situation and this situation wasn't even a common occurrence where I could ask someone who'd gone through this for some advice. I was completely on my own without a single idea of what the hell I was supposed to do next.

The only thing I did know was that I needed more information about what Roger and his band of delusional followers were planning to do about the potential werewolf situation. Maybe that really was the only way I was going to find out how to protect the werewolf. Then again, maybe it was a werewolf who'd only been passing through and it didn't need protecting. Maybe it was all the way to Glasgow and out of reach for the potential mob. If that wasn't the case, however, I was going to need enough information to make a plan. And to get that intel, as my mother's spy movies would call it, I needed not to miss dinner.

I looked at my watch, noticing that dinner had already started. I wiped my teary eyes one last time before collecting my books. I dropped them off on the cart for the librarian to reshelve on my way out of the library. Usually I'd put them back myself but I couldn't risk missing valuable time eavesdropping on Roger and his tales delusion.

I bumped into the infamous Marauders on my way out of the library. My recent reading of prejudices against werewolves made me too irritable with the entire wizard population to even notice how odd it was see them entering the library at the start of dinner, especially since their only member who didn't seem allergic to the library, Remus Lupin, wasn't with them. Due to my compromised emotional state, I just pushed through them without making any observations or theories about why they were there.

I continued my anti-everybody attitude as I made my way to dinner in the Great Hall. It was like everyone disgusted me, whether I knew they had a prejudice against werewolves or not. They all made me a little nauseous.

I took my usual seat at the Gryffindor table with Lily, Marlene, and Mary, wordlessly beginning to help myself to the shepherd's pie. Lily seemed annoyed by my silence, giving me an expectant look.

"So?" She questioned impatiently.

"So what?" I replied shortly, focusing my attention on my dinner. I couldn't hear Roger discussing his plans with his disciples but that didn't mean anything.

"You've been in a horrible mood all day and you skipped lessons to spend time in the library. What gives?" She demanded, not used to having to work to get answers.

I shrugged noncommittally, continuing to focus on my food. I casually looked up to try and see if I could find Roger and his delusional followers but the Ravenclaw table was mostly empty.

"Lena!" Lily exclaimed impatiently. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Lily, just leave me alone," I muttered grumpily, letting my eyes focus on the Ravenclaw table. I didn't see any of Roger's followers so I had to assume they were off plotting together. Maybe they'd already gone to the Board of Governors. Maybe they'd already found out who the werewolf was and...

I shook my head, trying to get these thoughts out of my head. I was getting ahead of myself. They didn't have any information to go off of, let alone enough to track a werewolf while it was in human form. They were so prejudicial that they probably thought the Muggle horror movies were true.

"Lena, what are you shaking your head about?" Mary questioned curiously.

"Nothing," I gruffly replied, watching Roger and his followers enter the Great Hall like a wall of prejudice and half truths. They walked right past the Ravenclaw table. Suddenly I realized that they were headed towards me.

My first reaction was panic. How could they possibly know about my plans to thwart their plotting? I then remembered the fact that they couldn't possibly know that yet. They hadn't even set their plan in motion for me to begin trying to stop it. Then I remembered the fact that I was present for the "attack" on Roger, which made me slightly uneasy.

"Lena," he greeted me, his voice carrying around the Great Hall so anyone could hear him without straining. He looked relatively well, considering that

"Roger," I nodded curtly in reply.

"Some of us _concerned _students are going to the Board of Governors," he informed me, his loud voice carrying through the Great Hall. "You know, about the _werewolf_."

There was a collection of gasps from throughout the room, ensuring the attention and audience that he was looking for.

I felt as if the entire room's eyes were fixed on me, a sensation that I wasn't fond of.I clenched and unclenched my jaw, "Are you really?"

"I am," he nodded. "I was thinking, since you were there, that you should join us."

I didn't know what to say. Should I accuse him of being a good-for-nothing, prejudiced git? Should I pretend to join their crusade so I could destroy their efforts from the inside? Seeking to give myself more time to decide upon an answer, I decided to play dumb. "I was there for what?"

He looked mildly annoyed but answered in his same loud, calm voice, "For the attack, of course."

I could feel dozens of eyes on me, awaiting my answer. The pressure left knots in my stomach. Unsure of how to proceed, my mouth let out the first lie that it thought of, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

His eye twitched slightly, his teeth gritted together. That had obviously not been the response he was looking for. "Last night, Lena," he reminded me, his voice becoming audibly annoyed. "We were attacked by a werewolf last night."

Committed to my story, I shook my head, "I don't know what you've been smoking, Stoke, but I haven't ever been attacked by a werewolf."

He scowled, "That's not funny, Waters. You know we were attacked last night. You know, after we went to go take care of our stupid Magical Creatures project."

I shook my head again, "No, we weren't. Seriously, what's gotten into you?"

The Great Hall seemed to begin to murmur, doubt beginning to creep across Roger's followers' faces. He shook his head in almost a pleading panic, "Come on, Lena. Don't you remember? There was a werewolf! How can you forget that?"

"How many times do I have to tell you this, Stoke? I don't know what you're playing at but I've never been attacked by a werewolf in my life," I informed him, stubbornly and desperately sticking to my story.

"This must be the trauma talking!" he exclaimed frantically as the murmurs and whispers around us began to increase in volume. "Your brain won't let you remember because it's too traumatizing!"

"Do I look traumatized to you?" I questioned with an annoyed gaze.

"You're lying!" His voice became almost shrill with anxiety. "You have to remember! You're just lying because - Because you're the werewolf!"

The Great Hall seemed to gasp. People who'd been sitting only seats away from me jumped to their feet, retreating away from me in panic as if I was going to infect them. All it seemed to take was an accusation and the entire student body seemed to suddenly believe every word.

I scoffed, "I'm not a werewolf."

"Which is exactly what a werewolf would say!" he exclaimed, becoming empowered by the growing amount of believers. "You monster! You baited me out of the castle on purpose! You planned it! You attacked me!"

I rolled my eyes, wanting to point that if I was a werewolf that he would have known already because he would have seen my transformation. I couldn't tell him that, however, because I had to pretend I knew nothing about what happened that night.

"Mister Stoke, that is quite enough!" Professor McGonagall's stern voice carried out through the Great Hall. "You will refrain from accusing other students or else you will be spending the rest of the day in the Headmaster's office!"

I looked at the staff table to see her on her feet, her hat slightly askew as she stared him down, her mouth visibly pursed together in a thin line. While I appreciated her intervention, it would have been desirable for her to step in before we'd gotten to that point.

He scowled at me before conceding, "This isn't over yet, Waters."

I scowled back at him as I watched him resign to the Ravenclaw table, his followers flocking to him with whispers of support. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I knew he was right. This was definitely not over yet.


	4. The Flame

Everyone always talked about how popularity was so amazing. No one ever talked about how notoriety sucks.

Ever since Roger had started circulating the rumor that I was a werewolf, it was like I had suddenly became a leper. If I sat down at Gryffindor table then anyone within ten feet of my seat would get up and move. First Years were sitting on the floor of the Great Hall so they wouldn't "catch my disease". In my classes, tables on the opposite side of the classroom were doubling and tripling up with students. I could feel people whisper "wolf" wherever I went. A few times I had blokes feeling particularly courageous howl at me but they were soon silenced by their girlfriends hissing at them to shut up before they made me mad.

I was mad. I had to be. That was the only way that I was surviving this. Having people whisper about me and treat me like a monster hurt like hell. There were times when I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry but I couldn't. I wasn't going to survive this that way. My anger was the only thing that was going to have the energy to put up with this.

As much as I hated having everyone in Hogwarts equally hate and fear me, it wasn't the worst part. I mean, strangers howling at me in the corridor or fleeing from me in fear of contamination was irritating but the worst part was Mary and Marlene.

They ignored me at first after Rodger's little announcement. I didn't blame them for that entirely. I'd become a social leper so being wary of being seen around me. I tried to be understanding of that. It wasn't until our other roommate, Cynthia Howard, decided that she couldn't possibly share a dorm with a "bloodthirsty monster" that things began to get a little ugly.

Cynthia went through the appropriate channels to try and get herself out of rooming with a "monster". I don't know if she tried to get me kicked out of the dormitory or if she just wanted to sleep somewhere else. Either way, McGonagall apparently denied her request before she could even finish her sentence. She was horrified. With the support of Roger and his band of followers, who were now calling themselves "the Alliance of Concerned Entities", she managed to unofficially move out of the dormitory and into an unused classroom.

I was a little annoyed when I watched her pack all of her belongings with the help of a few female Alliance members, or A.C.E. members as they called themselves. She muttered the whole time about having to disinfect everything the whole time they packed. I may or may not have discreetly hit her with a Trip Jinx on her way down the staircase... What can I say? Being universally hated made me a little aggressive.

I hadn't been expecting it when later that night I found Mary and Marlene packing their trunks. Mary refused to look at me, hurrying to lock her trunk and levitate it out of the room. It was like she was afraid that if she stuck around too long then I'd transform into a wolf and eat her. Marlene had the decency to mutter something about how she was sorry and her parents were making her do this as she took her trunk downstairs. How could her parents even know about this? It'd only happened within forty eight hours.

I could hear Lily screaming in the Common Room. I chuckled to myself humorlessly as I listened to her screech about them being traitors and how they were of age and could make their own decisions. I listened to her rant at them for being spineless and betraying my friendship. Good old Lily. The entire school could want my head on a pike and she'd still be there, fighting them off with her barbed tongue.

I looked around the empty dormitory, sighing. Everything was just spiraling out of control. How could everything unravel so much in not even forty eight hours. All it took was for one self important git to say the "werewolf" and suddenly it was starting to feel like I was some sort of social pariah.

I rolled my eyes at Mary and Marlene's bare beds. I could remember meeting Mary on the train at the start of our First Year. That's how Lily and I had met. We just happened to stumble on Mary in the lavatory, crying over how some future Slytherin had called her a "blood traitor" because her mother had married a muggle after her father passed away. Lily and I spent the entire train ride trying to cheer her up. The three of us then met Marlene after we'd all been sorted into Gryffindor. She'd been uncharacteristically shy. All of her friends who she'd met on the train had been sorted into Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff.  
I could feel the queasily familiar ball of rage and hurt burn its way to my throat. I tried to choke it down, reminding myself that it wasn't going to help anything. _Calm down, _I instructed myself. _It's not worth it. Calm down. This isn't going to last forever. You just need to get through the next full moon. You can do this._

"Hey," Lily greeted me warily, interrupting my moment of an internal pep talk. She was looking at me cautiously, which I couldn't blame her for. My usually somewhat good temperament had been incredibly ornery lately.

"Hi," I replied wearily, rubbing my temples.

"I'm sorry," she offered apologetically. "I know this is rough."

I let out an inelegant snort, "That's a bit of an understatement but yeah."

"It's going to be okay," she assured me. "This'll all blow over. Just give it time. Mary and Marlene will come to their senses."

I let out a unintelligible noise of vague agreement. I wasn't sure that even if I wanted Mary and Marlene to come to their senses. I was too angry about their betrayal to even consider forgiving them. The more I thought about, the angrier I became. All those nights of tutoring Mary to keep her from failing potions, all those Hogsmeade trips that we'd gone together because none of us had dates, all of those nights spent eating chocolate and listening to Marlene ramble about her latest crush... They'd thrown it all away because some bloke _who meant nothing to them_, made a wild accusation about me being a werewolf. How do you forgive that?

"Lena?" Lily questioned carefully. "Le, you're practically turning colors. Are you okay?"

"Fucking dandy," I replied shortly. I immediately regretted the harshness of my words as soon as they escaped my lips. She was the only one who had bothered to stay in my corner and she didn't deserve to be the target of my rampant temper. "I'm sorry," I told her. "I've got a little bit of a short fuse lately."

She gave me a sympathetic smile, "I don't blame you. It's going to be over soon. It'll take some time but this'll all just be a bad memory."

I nodded automatically but I wasn't so convinced. How could someone recover from this?


	5. The Fire

"She's a menace to society!" one of the parents shouted from the middle of the forming mob. The concerned parents were standing in the middle of Professor Dumbledore's crowded office, waving letters that A.C.E. has sent them, warning them of how a dangerous monster was endangering their children.

"She's been sent by You-Know-Who to recruit for his army!" a particularly petite middle-aged mother with a flat face exclaimed. "She's a danger to us all!"

Dumbledore maintain his polite yet unimpressed manner. "My dear Hilda, I understand your concern but I can assure you that Lena is not a threat to anyone's well being."

That might not have been true if this constant harassment didn't stop. Between everyone pointing and whispering, A.C.E., being the target of every rogue jinx and hex, and now this mob, my patience was evaporating quickly.

"Not a threat? Not a threat?!" a lean man laughed harshly and humorlessly at the idea. "That monster attacked my son."

Well I'd thought that man looked like a prat. It turns out that the look was hereditary.

"Richard, we have no proof that Roger was attacked by a werewolf. We both agree that something did attack him that night but the dark can play tricks on the eyes. There is a reason that Hogwarts has rules against being on the grounds after dark. There is also a reason that the Forbidden Forest has its name. Even I couldn't name all the creatures living in there. What happened to Roger was unfortunate but blaming Lena will not improve the matter," Dumbledore informed Stoke in a manner that would reassure any rational human being.

"She tried to kill my son!" Stoke shook his head adamantly.

"If you don't expel her, Dumbledore, then I will pull my children out of Hogwarts," the woman named Hilda threatened.

"Then I shall be sad to watch them leave," Dumbledore replied evenly. "I cannot expel her without evidence. Hogwarts exists to give its students an education and a safe learning environment."

"And if we get proof of her affliction?" Stoke questioned cautiously.

"Then we may revisit this conversation. Until then, Richard, this topic is closed. Now, Lena needs to go to her lessons. As I'm sure you all remember, Seventh Year requires extra effort." For the first time since he summoned me to his office, he actually looked at me. "Go on, Lena. Professor Slughorn is expecting you."

Not needing to be told twice, I muttered a "thank you professor" before shuffling out of the room. So that's where A.C.E. members got their ignorance and intolerance from.

The trip to the dungeon was pleasantly boring and uneventful. Despite being a "scary monster", my classmates seemed to quickly become emboldened towards me. It wasn't a rare occasion that a Sixth Year trying to show off in front of his friends would shoot hexes or jinxes at me so it was nice change of pace to not need a Shield Charm. I would definitely need one when I got to class. I always did.

Some classes were better than other. McGonagall's class was the best because she was the most intimidating and likely to put someone in detention until graduation for hexing people in her class. Slughorn's was one of the worst because he'd never say anything or do anything if he noticed. My Ancient Runes class was probably the absolute worst based on the sole fact that I didn't have that class with Lily. Charms, Arithmancy, and Defense Against the Dark Arts were just normal levels of misery.

I opened the Potions classroom door with my wand in my hand, preparing to cast a Shield Charm. It felt like the entire room glared at me as I walked in. It was almost like the entire room groaned, "Oh no, I thought we got rid of her."

Defiantly, I strode through the classroom. I could feel their eyes follow me as I took my seat next to Lily. The tension and unwanted attention was nearly enough to make me feel like I couldn't breathe.

It reminded me of a dream I'd kept having about Roger. It was more of a nightmare actually. He and I would be at Black Lake and I'd be in the water. He kept holding my head down underwater. He'd hold me under until I felt like I was about to lose consciousness from lack of oxygen. Then he'd pull me up so my head was above water so I could take in a few gasping breaths. Before I could get enough air in my lungs to scream or beg him to stop, he'd push my head back under. I guess that's more obvious symbolism in my dreams than Divination talks about.

As I settled into my seat, I casted a nonverbal Shield Charm before I took out my quill, ink, and parchments to start my notes.

I ignored the sympathetic look that Lily shot me as the jinxes and hexes come flying. They bounced off my Shield but I still felt the urge to start keeping a ledger of all the people who kept attacking me so I could get my revenge later. Roger would be on the top of my list. Currently he was the one sending red sparks at my Shield, trying to break the charm. He wasn't even bothering to be discreet. He didn't need to be. He was part of the Slug Club, Slughorn's little club where he tries to bribe the rich, well-connected, and talented students into favoring him by plying them with alcohol. He would never call out one of the club's members, despite how ruthless they were being.

Part of me wished the Shield Charm didn't work both ways so I could give him a taste of his own medicine. I knew it would probably just make things worse but the temptation was still strong. I knew that I could beat him in a duel. I was obviously better at Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts considering that he couldn't break my Shield Charm, despite his adamant efforts.

"Lena, are you even trying to pay attention?" Lily chided, noticing my distraction.

"Sorry, I have more important things on my mind," I replied, still watching as the spells bounced off my Shield Charm, sending sparks flying away. Roger wasn't the only person trying to magically assault me but he definitely was the most determined.

"You really shouldn't let them get between you and your lessons," she pointed out in a gentle reminder. She was trying to be understanding and supportive but she still didn't quite get it. Then again, how could she? People still loved her, despite her taking my side. They just blamed it on her being naive and in denial. I guess that's the advantage of being Hogwarts' sweetheart.

"If I pay attention to Slughorn then I can't make sure my Shield Charm holds. If it doesn't hold then I'm going to get hit with so many spells that I'll probably be in the Hospital Wing for a week," I reminded her in a flat tone. "I appreciate your concern and I'd love to get to listen to him talk about the ill effects of an overcooked Polyjuice Potion but I really just can't risk it." I appreciated her concern but I really wish that she'd sort out her priorities. I could always just copy her notes later when I was someplace safer.

My attention was so focused on watching for any signs of weakening in my Shield that I almost missed the most peculiar thing. I barely noticed the Marauders glaring at Roger. That was odd and immediately drew my attention. The Marauders were the glaring type by nature. When they did glare, it generally had something to do with Slytherins and even then it was usually all smirks and smug looks.

At first I began to question whether they were doing it for me. I quickly shook off that idea. It was arrogant to think that. Roger had probably done something to upset them. Maybe he stole one of their girlfriends. I hadn't heard any gossip about any of the Marauders getting a new girlfriend but I was a little distracted and the rumor mill was the least of my concerns.

When I saw Sirius raise his wand, my interest was peaked. Roger's wand went flying through the classroom and the hand that he'd been previously using to hold his wand started to swell. It was like he was having some sort of allergic reaction.

Sirius got my gaze as I eyed him curiously. I cocked my head to the side questioningly. Where had that came from? He held my stare for a few seconds before abruptly turning away. A few seconds was all it took to realize that I'd been right. I didn't know why but I was convinced that he'd done because of me. He did to stop Roger from harassing me.

I felt a certain mixture of emotions. I was mostly confused and curious. I hadn't spoken to any of the Marauders in length since they went through puberty. Why would they start standing up for me now, especially when most of the mates I'd had since First Year couldn't even be bothered to glare in my defense. There was a tiny glimmer of hope. I hadn't realized how social of a creature I was until everyone started treating me like a dangerous pariah. The idea that someone out there didn't hate me (other than Lily) was an indescribable relief. Then was the feeling of rage at the fact that these people were practically strangers and they'd still stood up for me more than Mary and Marlene.

The feeling of relief was slightly tempered with the fact that none of the Marauders would look at me. They almost looked guilty the way that they were avoiding eye contact. Hm... Curious.

**A/N: I apologize for the lack of update. The new semester just started and I've got a few too many irons in the fire. With that being said, I'll keep this author's note short. I just have a little something to think about: Remus. Just think about how all this is affecting him. That is all.**


End file.
